For the most part I make flutes by request, recently I have had many request for in-stock flutes. I have decided to start making a small inventory of flutes to keep on hand for general sale to supply this demand. These flutes will be more basic and affordable from my custom flutes, check back soon for more information.
Here are a couple of recent flutes that have gone to good homes. First is a Robin flute in black cherry with Payung rosewood and bubinga accents. Kristine the new keeper of this flute wanted it to represent the robin, one of her favorite birds. The block represents a singing Robin. This flute is tuned to D4 A-432 Verdi, a tuning that is slightly lower and very calming.
This is the second Kauri flute I have made and this wood is impessive for it's acoustic qualities. The 50,000 years or so spent in the bogs of New Zealand seems to be the magic ingredient. Just like the first, this flute sounds absolutely amazing.
Photo by Mark Burnham Photography
I created this flute for a good friend who picked out the Maori Manaia Spirit Guardian figure with Abalone shell eye at the foot of the flute. For Maori the Manaia is the carrier of supernatural powers-the spiritual guardian which protects from evil. It is traditionally depicted with the head of a bird, the body of a man and the tail of a fish- creating a balance between sky, earth and the sea.
I take pride in making each flute for the person receiving it, a special flute that has meaning from visual, spiritual and sound perspectives.
As you can see by the photo, this wood looks amazing although it looks even better in person. As the flute is rotated there is an iridescence to the wood that catches the light, this is in part to the amber that has formed in the wood over time.
Once again the block design was borrowed with permission from Geoffery Ellis of Earth Tone Flutes
More photo's to follow!
Well the shop is finished and I am back at it. With a couple of new flutes under my belt with the new setup I wanted to tackle some wood I picked up on my way back from my trip to Montana in the summer.
This flutes has been sold. I have limited quanities of this wood and will only be making a small amount. This flute comes with a flute bag, Kauri wood certificate of aunthenticity and information pamphlet. For more info and pricing please email me jim@earthspiritflutes.com
Ancient Kauri Tree's have been excavated from the bogs in New Zealand. This wood has been carbon dated at around 50,000 years old and these tree's are massive! there are still some growing today and are protected from being harvested.
After being in the bogs from some 50,000 years the wood has been preserved and have gone through some changes during that time. See here for more details Ancient Kauri story
With this flute I tried to convey the Native flute design as well as impart a flavor of where the wood came from... New Zealand. The burned design with red jasper and turquoise at the end is of Maori style art and burn rings on the end to help give it focus. The block in Claro Walnut is a design of Geoffery Ellis of Earth Tone Flutes. Geoffery calls this block the "Mystic" and he has graciously allowed me to use this design for this flute.
Mouthpiece inlay and end cap are also in Claro Walnut. The photo's here do not do this wood justice, when sanded with a fine grit sandpaper the wood comes alive with an irridesence when hit by light. Extra finishing time is required but it's well worth the effort.
This flute is so clear and sweet sounding... very nice!
While I am close to completing the new shop and have not had a chance to start any new flutes, I thought I would post a couple of flutes I made this past summer.
The first is a custom flute made out of Spalted Maple and Black ebony accents with inlaid jasper in the block in Low Cm. The first finger hole was offset to allow for better reach as this is a large flute
The second flute made for the same customer is in a beautiful wood, Italian Olive with black walnut accents in Low Bm. The block on the Olive flute is a 4 part laminated block to help tie it in with the colors in the flute body. Olive is a dense wood with amazing grain patterns and even smells like olives. Again the 1st hole was offset as well as the 4th to allow for even more comfortable playing. Both of these flutes represented challenges but in the end they turned out amazing and both sound awesome
It has been a busy summer and a while since I have posted anything. I wanted to add some recent flutes I have made out of wild black cherry that came from my fathers forest. Cherry is a very nice wood to work with consistant grain and great acoustics. shown here are four flutes made of cherry with payung rosewood and purpleheart accents, in addition I have inlaid crushed stone requested by the customer.
As Autumn winds down I have been busy getting the new shop ready for winter. Although it may look small at 10x12 feet, the dedicated shop will be perfect for making flutes. Everything will be setup efficiently to streamline the creation process ensuring quality.
